Church leaders have thrown their weight behind Muslim plans to build a mosque in the southeastern US state of Tennessee after a court ruling halted the construction.
“We would be praying with them,” Dr. Andrew Anyabwile, pastor of The Village Church in East Nashville, told Fox17 on Monday, June 4.
Speaking at a church event attended by Imam Osama Bahloul, leader of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, Pastor Anyabwile reiterated his support for plans to build a mosque in the city.
“We just really wanted to reach out to him and to let him know that we cared about his community and him,” he said, referring to Imam Bahloul.
Last week, a US judge halted the construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.
The judge ruled that the Rutherford County planning commission had not given enough public notice prior to a 2010 meeting when the mosque plans were approved.
Attorneys of the Rutherford Country say meetings to approve the mosque plans were announced in the local newspaper and its website and the approval was in line with law.
Muslim community leaders complain that the court ruling breaches their constitutional rights.
“It seems like the Muslim community being singled out in this because we did follow the exact process of everyone else,” said imam Bahloul.
“If we respect our constitution, then we’ll have no choice but to support each other because the freedom of religion is the core of our constitution.”
Since the approval of its construction, the Murfreesboro mosque was the center of attacks.
In August 2010, a fire destroyed construction equipment and damaged vehicles at the construction site for the mosque. Police said it was arson.
A sign announcing the mosque was spray-painted with the words “Not Welcome.”
For months, mosque leaders searched for contractors to build the mosque, but the hostile opposition has turned many away from taking the job.
Mosque leaders said contractors told them it had become too much of a hot-button issue and presented too much of a risk to their business and equipment.
Mosque officials said a contractor told them that he needed the work but that the leaders of his own church were against the new Islamic center.
Optimistic
Muslim leaders say that the court ruling suspending the mosque construction undermines the right to freedom of religion.
“It seems like this is a small group with a very vocal voice against the freedom of religion in Murfreesboro,” imam Bahloul said.
He expressed hopes that the Islamic center will welcome worshippers in July to celebrate the month of Ramadan.
“But I am really optimistic because I know that what’s right will prevail by the end,” he added.
All across the US, mosques have been facing fierce opposition recently.
At least 18 mosque projects — from Mississippi to Wisconsin — have found foes who battle to stop them from seeing light citing different pretexts, including traffic concerns and fear of terrorism.
Even more, some mosques were vandalized including a 2011 Wichita mosque arson case for which a $5,000 reward is being offered.
In multicultural New York, a proposed mosque near Ground Zero site has snowballed into a national public and political debate, with opponents arguing that the Muslim building would be an insult to the memory of the 9/11 victims.
Advocates, however, say that the mosque would send a message of tolerance in 9/11-post America.
Source: OnIslam & News Agencies
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